LAN Chile Flight 160 was a Boeing 727

Boeing 727

The Boeing 727 is a mid-size, narrow-body, three-engine, T-tailed commercial jet airliner, manufactured by Boeing. The Boeing 727 first flew in 1963, and for over a decade more were built per year than any other jet airliner. When production ended in 1984 a total of 1,832 aircraft had been produced...

 on a flight from Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...

, Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

 to Santiago

Santiago, Chile

Santiago , also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of above mean sea level...

, Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

 carrying 8 crew and 52 passengers which crashed during approach to Santiago. Flight 160 took off from Ministro Pistarini International Airport

Ministro Pistarini International Airport

Ministro Pistarini International Airport , more commonly known as Ezeiza International Airport owing to its location within the Ezeiza Partido in the Greater Buenos Aires, is an international airport located south-southwest of Buenos Aires, the capital city of Argentina...

 at 23:56 GMT (20:56 local time), but when nearing Santiago the Boeing 727 descended below the minimum height of 2829 feet and kept on descending until it struck the ground in farm land north of Colina, Chile

Colina, Chile

Colina is a Chilean city and commune, capital of the Chacabuco Province, in the northern part of the Santiago Metropolitan Region.-Demographics:...

. While the aircraft was damaged beyond repair in the crash, none of the 60 passengers and crew were killed or injured.

Cause

The cause of the accident was excessive concentration by the crew on the indications given by the Flight director

Flight director (aviation)

In aviation, a flight director is a navigational aid that is overlaid on the attitude indicator that shows the pilot of an aircraft the attitude required to follow a certain trajectory.-Description:...

 instrument, which was being incorrectly used on a direct Instrument landing system

Instrument Landing System

An instrument landing system is a ground-based instrument approach system that provides precision guidance to an aircraft approaching and landing on a runway, using a combination of radio signals and, in many cases, high-intensity lighting arrays to enable a safe landing during instrument...

(ILS) approach. The crew did not check other instruments, which showed that the aircraft was descending below its glidepath.